Loving where she lives

You’ve got to love people who love where they live – like the CBD’s Rhyll Dorrington who is smitten by her west-end location.

Manhattan might have its acclaimed SoHo district but, according to Rhyll, nothing beats Melbourne’s SoBo enclave (South of Bourke)!

She bought her apartment on the corner of Collins and Spencer streets in 2011 and couldn’t be happier with her purchase.

Apart from expecting great capital growth, Rhyll is just excited by the emerging western end of the city.

“There are so many cafes and restaurants popping up everywhere,” she said. “This end of the city is coming alive.”

“And no one seems to know what to call this end of Collins St. I’ve heard it called the Warsaw end, the Athens end, the Berlin end, the New York end of Collins St.”

“Shopping is so easy and I don’t need a car anymore,” she said.

She said a share car service was located nearby but she had only accessed the service twice in the past 18 months.

Rhyll works in the western suburbs and it was a strange experience to be leaving the central city as the commuting public was pouring in from the other direction.

She looked to buy in the inner west after returning to Melbourne after a decade in London. Finding herself in the apartment market (being priced out of free-standing houses), she thought: “If I’m going to live in a flat, I might as well live in the city.”

She found a great deal and has not
looked back.

One of the best things about her new location is how popular she has become with visiting friends and relatives who all love to stay over and experience the central location for themselves.

And, she says, she also feels safer living in a secure apartment tower than living in the suburbs.

Rhyll noticed incredible change in the city during the 10 years she lived in London.

“Melbourne totally changed in that time. With Fed Square and Docklands and the explosion of bars in the city. It’s amazing,” she said.

“The bars here are better than in London. I was totally shocked by the rapid change.”

The best things for her about living in town are proximity and amenity.

“It’s the gigs and the nightlife, the restaurants and the convenience for friends and family,” she said. “I’d recommend it to anyone.”